Investigating the Transition of Young Children With Intellectual Disabilities to Mainstream Classes: an Australian perspective

An investigation of the transition of 33 children with intellectual disabilities to mainstream kindergarten classes was conducted by surveying parents, receiving teachers, and receiving principals. All 33 children had received a model university-based inclusive preschool program in the year before kindergarten. Structured interviews with the parents, teachers, and principals at the beginning of Term 2 of the school year and with the parents and teachers at the end of the school year provided information about issues relating to the transition and the initial and subsequent integration of the children. The findings from this study were valuable in relation to the ongoing evaluation of the model preschool program, but also provide useful information to early intervention services and mainstream schools wanting to improve the success of their transition programs.     

智力残疾人职业高中课程体系建设的实践研究

本研究在生活质量理念、支持性教育理念的指导下,以就业安置为目标,构建培智学校职业教育校本课程体系.通过近四年的校本研究,初步构建了智力残疾人职业高中课程体系,并对智力残疾人的专业训练、支持性就业等问题进行了重点研究,取得了较好的效果.     

Integration in Victoria: Teachers’ Attitudes After Six Years of A No‐Choice Policy

THE STUDY investigated differences in attitude toward the integration of children with disabilities as measured by responses on the Attitudes Toward Mainstreaming Scale between a 1984 sample of teachers, teachers‐in‐training and non‐teachers in the State of Victoria, Australia, with corresponding groups in 1990. In 1984 a new policy which emphasised the rights of all children to an education in regular schools and the consequent expectation that teachers had no choice about whether they would accept children with disabilities into their classes had been introduced. It was found that in 1990 the teacher groups expressed more positive responses than had their counterparts in 1984. The teacher groups in 1984 had been less positive than the non‐teachers but in 1990 this difference had disappeared. The factor structure of the responses in 1990 emphasised the changes further indicating that children with intellectual disabilities and/or those with disturbed behaviour were those about whom teachers held the most concerns. The availability of ancillary staff was seen as a major factor in the more positive attitudes toward the policy.     

美国中小学阶段特殊教育安置的趋势分析

基于全纳教育政策,美国为障碍儿童提供了4大类全纳程度不同的安置方式。经过多年的实践,已形成了比较稳定并具有一定合理性的安置模式。以学生的最佳发展为目标,不同类别的残疾学生在安置上差别很大。非智力落后或轻度感官障碍类学生以普通班级为主,智力落后类和重度感官障碍类的学生则以分离班级和资源教室的安置为主,全国60多万智力落后的中小学生中只有约10%被安置在普通班级里。     

培智学校校本课程开发实践研究

近些年来,随着随班就读工作的深入开展,培智学校的教育对象从招收轻度智力障碍学生为主逐渐转变为招收中、重度智力障碍学生为主,且学校中同时伴有情绪行为障碍及自闭症的学生越来越多。良好的教育训练可以改善与提高中、重度智力障碍儿童的适应能力,其中,学校的课程设置与开发尤为重要。学校在个别化教育、生存教育与生活教育等理念的指导下,以智障学生生活适应能力培养为核心,进行了课程开发实践研究,取得了一定成效。     

随班就读教师课堂支持研究

随班就读是全球融合教育在中国的具体实践,随班就读教师究竟需要怎样的“支持”才能满足残疾儿童在普通班级中的特殊教育需要？基于信效度较好的随班就读教师课堂支持问卷调查与分析结果表明,随班就读教师在社会性支持上的得分显著高于在技术性支持上的得分;在社会性支持中,教师在融合教育氛围上得分显著高于在学校领导支持上的得分,而在学校领导支持上的得分又显著高于在同事支持上的得分;在技术性支持中,教师在物理环境调整上的得分显著高于在教辅教具配置上的得分;而在教辅教具配置上的得分又显著高于在专业人员指导上的得分。基于研究结果,建议加强随班就读教师所需支持研究,规范开展随班就读工作的教室建设,提升特殊教育学校教师专业化水平。     

Prediction of School Enrolment of Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Kenya: The role of parents' expectations,beliefs, and education

The purpose of this study was to develop a logistic regression model for the prediction of school enrolment of Kenyan children with intellectual disabilities. The initial set of predictors included three demographic variables (child's gender, child's level of intellectual disability, and parents' level of education) and six factors of parents' expectations and beliefs about future outcomes and education of children with intellectual disabilities. Previous research implicated some of these concepts in school enrolment of children with disabilities in African countries without providing a particular prediction model. The hypothesised factor structure of the instrument developed in this study was tested by using a confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis. A stepwise logistic regression was conducted with the initial model including all nine predictors of school enrolment of children with intellectual disabilities in Kenya. Significant predictors in the final logistic regression model were (a) parents' expectations about social acceptance of the child, (b) parents' bias against educating children with intellectual disabilities, (c) parents' beliefs about a segregated school option, (d) parents' beliefs about the appropriateness of the child's school education, and (e) parents' level of education.     

Classification of children with learning problems and the establishment of special classes in Delaware from the 1930s to the mid-1940s

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on J. E. Wallace Wallin, who recognised the rights of children with disabilities to receive an education, and who tackled the scientific classification of children and the provision of special classes in the state of Delaware from the 1930s to the middle of the 1940s. This study intends to clarify how Wallin recognised and classified children who exhibited learning problems, and how he provided an educational environment for them. Wallin advocated the democratic philosophy of providing differentiated education based on the individual differences among children. He classified children with learning problems as “mentally deficient”, “backward”, and “special subject-matter disabilities”. He also recommended special educational treatment in not only special classes but also regular classes. He insisted that regular class teachers and special class teachers share the responsibility of educating children with disabilities. However, in addition to tailoring education based on the diversity exhibited by children with learning problems, it is essential to tailor it for disabled children in public school special classes established in their communities. In terms of both human and material resources, it was difficult to address learning problems suitably in regular classes while improving the quality and quantity of education in special classes.     

A Feasibility Study of a Full Integration Model Developed for a Group of Students Classified as Mildly Intellectually Disabled

The feasibility of a functional full‐time integration model was examined by comparing the academic and social achievement of two groups of 13 students with mild intellectual disabilities who had been randomly allocated to either age‐appropriate mainstream classes or to a segregated special class. Both groups of students had previously attended special classes in a support unit catering for students with mild intellectual disabilities and had been taught by two special education teachers. During the experimental phase, one teacher remained in the unit while the other acted as a resource teacher for both integrated students with disabilities and regular low progress students in mainstream classes to which the students with disabilities had been allocated. After a 16 week intervention, the results indicated that the integrated students improved significantly more than their segregated counterparts on measures of decoding and mathematics as well as in time spent playing with regular peers. Furthermore, in one regular classroom where the resource teacher had established a mastery learning/cooperative group procedure, both regular students and those with disabilities improved significantly more in academic skills than a parallel group in a traditionally organized classroom. While it is recognised that teacher effects cannot be partialled out in such an intervention, the implications of these results for extending special education services into the mainstream rather than isolating them within special classes are discussed.     

The Social Skills and Social Status of Mainstreamed Students with Intellectual Disabilities

This paper reports on the social skills and social status of 22 students with mainly moderate intellectual disabilities who had received an inclusive preschool intervention and were subsequently followed up from 18 months to more than five years later in their mainstream classrooms. Measures included direct assessment of social interaction in the playground, social status obtained by interviewing classmates, and the ratings of classroom teachers, parents and school principals. Large differences were found between the students with disabilities and their typical peers for amount of time spent interacting with peers and amount of time spent in isolation, with a moderate difference found for interactions with teachers. However, no difference was found between the social status of the two groups, and the students with disabilities were still spending more than half their time in the playground interacting with typically developing peers. Parents generally rated their children as having better social skills than did principals or teachers. A moderate relationship was found between the direct measures of peer interactions and teachers' perceptions of peer interaction skills. The relationships between the parents' and principals' perceptions of peer interaction and direct measures of the interaction were only small. Some of the implications of these findings for integrating students into mainstream schools and classes are discussed.     

Children's Attitudes and Behavioural Intentions Towards Peers with Disabilities

This study used the theory of reasoned action to investigate determinants of primary school children's attitudes and behavioural intentions towards peers with physical disabilities. The influence of children's own attitudes toward working with peers with physical disabilities in regular classes and subjective norms provided by their teachers, principals, and parents were used to predict behavioural intentions to befriend and interact with classmates with physical disabilities. The participants were 143 fourth and fifth grade primary school students, their mothers, teachers, and school principals. The students completed an attitude questionnaire and a behavioural intention scale. Their parents, teachers, and principals completed a similar disability attitude questionnaire. The results supported the predictions made by the theory of reasoned action. Children's own attitudes towards the inclusion of peers with disabilities was the strongest predictor of behavioural intentions to interact with a classmate with a physical disability. The attitudes of teachers, principals, and parents were also significant predictors of intentions. However, only the attitudes of parents and school principals accounted for any more variance than children's attitudes alone. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of developing whole class interventions to promote the social integration of children with physical disabilities.     

农村中学历史教学渗透劳动教育的研究

劳动教育具有立德、增智、强体、育美的综合育人价值,与德育、智育、体育、美育共同构成科学完整的育人体系。教师在农村中学历史教学中,应加强学科教育与劳动教育的融合,响应创新与创业的时代召唤,将社会主义核心价值观渗透于学科教育与劳动教育中,切实提升学生的综合素质,促进学生的全面发展。     

Are regular education classes equipped to accommodate students with learning disabilities?

This study examined educational practices in regular education classes in grades K-5 to determine changes required to facilitate a full-time mainstreaming program for students with learning disabilities. Data collected during the planning year of a mainstreaming project permitted a detailed analysis of the elementary school and the extent to which it accommodated individual differences. Data from informal and structured observations, interviews, and surveys of students, parents, and teachers suggested that fundamental changes in instruction are necessary for the regular education initiative to work in this school.     

An analysis of the different patterns of 1:1 interactions between educational professionals and their students with varying abilities in inclusive classrooms

The purpose of this study was to examine the different types and patterns of 1:1 interactions provided by general educators, special educators and paraprofessionals to children with mild disabilities (n?=?13), severe disabilities (n?=?13), and children without disabilities (n?=?13) in inclusive classrooms. General educators, special educators, and paraprofessionals' 1:1 interactions with students in three comparison groups were recorded in 17 elementary and middle school classrooms using a partial interval observation system. We found significant differences with respect to interaction frequency and content. Teachers and paraprofessionals had consistently more 1:1 interactions with students with severe disabilities, followed by children with mild disabilities, and then students without disabilities. In comparison to special education teachers and paraprofessionals, general educators interacted significantly more frequently with children without disabilities and children with mild disabilities. In contrast, paraprofessionals interacted significantly more often with students with severe disabilities and less frequently with children with mild disabilities and students without disabilities. Instructional interactions in social, behavioural, and functional domains were infrequent in these classrooms. We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and practice.     

Ethical Reasoning Used by Teachers of Children with Severe and Profound Intellectual Disabilities: A preliminary investigation

In a study of the ethical reasoning of teachers of children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, the authors report on their findings from interviews with, and classroom observations of, five teachers of children in segregated classrooms. The teachers' responses to four ethical dilemmas were discussed and analysed for the types of reasoning that they used and for the presence of four principles often cited in normative ethics: justice, respect for autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence. Interview data also suggested the presence of some distinctive elements in the ethical discussion of the participants. The authors found that teachers gave almost exclusive consideration to individual student interests in their discussions of the dilemmas. Although justice played a significant role in their validation of their decisions, the governing principle in their argument seemed to be beneficence. Moral impasses have frequently arisen in discussions of the ethics of decisions regarding persons with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. The findings of this study are presented as an empirical contribution to that debate and as a mandate for further discussion.     

Physical education and sport and special needs in Germany

Abstract

Historically, in Germany individuals with special needs have been offered participation in physical education (PE) both in segregated and increasingly in integrated settings. Specific curricula for children with disabilities (physical disabilities, hearing, and visual impairments, speech and behaviour disorders as well as intellectual disabilities) were developed in the 1960s and 1970s. They all emphasized the specific importance of physical activities for people with a disability focusing not only on motor competencies but also on the psychological and social benefits of physical education. During the 1970s so‐called model schools started to include children with disabilities in mainstream schools. Unlike developments in the United States, for example, where integrated or mainstream schooling was based on legal requirements, in Germany improved integration or inclusion was not based on federal law, but on parents’ or teachers’ initiatives in different Bundesländer (states of Germany). Parallel to these developments, new approaches to PE have accentuated a positive orientation towards ‘ability’ rather than ‘disability’. Professionals in PE in universities and in schools have been challenged to develop better diagnostic skills and more individualized programmes. On the initiative of nine European universities, a European Master's degree of Adapted Physical Activity has been developed to offer advanced training on a European scale. However, despite these positive and innovative developments serious concerns remain concerning the situation of children with disabilities in the school system. This article argues that there is still a significant lack of specially trained professionals and support staff and that the ongoing process of reducing the amount of PE in schools for all children, including those with a disability, does not contribute to improved physical and social skills or increased participation in recreational and sport activities outside schools.     

浅谈智障儿童感觉统合训练的实效性

随着社会的发展,对于特殊儿童的关注度不断提高,越来越重视特殊儿童教育.智障儿童是特殊的儿童群体之一,由于大脑出现器质性的损伤,大脑发展不全,在认知、心理、运动以及社会交往中都存在一定的障碍,从而影响儿童之后的健康成长.而这些障碍其实可以通过采用不同的感觉统合训练加以改善,帮助儿童过上正常的生活.本文就感觉统合训练对智障...     

Special Education in Finland

FINLAND is a small North‐European country with a population of about 5 million. It has historical ties with Sweden and Russia. Consequently, there are two official languages in the country: Finnish and Swedish. The education system is based on a 9‐year comprehensive school. Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 16. Health and welfare services for children with disabilities are mainly provided within the regular services but special services are ensured by special laws. Special education services are provided at every level of education and learning environment modifications range from remedial education to individual instruction at home. In the comprehensive school about 16% of all pupils receive special education in some form. The majority of special pupils receive part‐time special education by resource room teachers. Individual and group integration has increased strongly during the last decade and more emphasis is placed in the development of individual special education programming.     

EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS: WRITING TO EXPLORE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Abstract

This study examined the perceptions and practices of certified preschool teachers and children regarding play. A sample of 102 Pre‐Kindergarten regular (Pre‐K regular) teachers and 61 Pre‐Kindergarten with disabilities (Pre‐K with disabilities) teachers in an urban school district were surveyed. A sub‐group of 46 teachers and 72 4‐year‐old children were interviewed. In contrast to teachers in a previous study who did not have teacher certification, the teachers in the present study believed that play supported children's learning and development and indicated that play was an integral part of their curriculum. Approximately 30% of the teachers who were interviewed said they did not allow children's rough and tumble play either because they thought it was dangerous or it would promote aggression. All of the Pre‐K with disabilities teachers and half of Pre‐K regular teachers said they provided support for play of children with disabilities in their classes. Their reported support focused more on cognitive aspects of play than on social interactions. Children's ideas about play were similar to those in the 1987 study.     

Social and Emotional Functioning of Children with Learning Disabilities: Does Special Education Placement Make a Difference?

Children with learning disabilities in four types of special education settings were compared in terms of social acceptance, number of friends, quality of relationship with best friends, self‐concept, loneliness, depression, social skills, and problem behaviors. Two of the placements (In‐Class Support and Resource Room) were for children with mild to moderate learning disabilities and involved between 30 and 90 minutes of special education per school day. The other two placements (Inclusion Class and Self‐Contained Special Education Class) were designated for children with severe learning disabilities and involved at least a half‐day of special education. Children in the more inclusive placements had more positive social and emotional functioning. Children receiving In‐Class Support were more accepted by peers, had higher self‐perceptions of mathematics competence, and fewer problem behaviors than children receiving Resource Room Support. Children in Inclusion Classes had more satisfying relationships with their best school friends, were less lonely, and had fewer problem behaviors than children in Self‐Contained Special Education Classes.